Pantry Pride`s Revlon Bid Up To $58 A Share

The bidding for Revlon Inc. continued Friday as Pantry Pride Inc. said it sweetened its tender offer for the cosmetics and health care company by $1.75 a share to $58.

Pantry Pride said the offer is not subject to a financing condition but is contingent upon an injunction against Revlon`s anti-takeover measures and the so-called ``lock-up option`` Revlon recently granted Forstmann Little & Co. The new offer expires Oct. 31.

Revlon is trying to outflank Pantry Pride by taking itself private in a leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little. A lock-up option is an arrangement in which a friendly suitor is allowed to acquire key elements of a company to discourage other bidders. Leveraged buyouts are purchases made largely with debt to be repaid with funds from the target company`s operations or the sale of its assets.

Earlier Friday, Pantry Pride announced it has obtained commitments on $725 million of debt securities in connection with its cash tender offer for any and all outstanding Revlon common stock. Fort Lauderdale-based Pantry Pride has already said it has about $750 million in cash and marketable securities and a bank commitment for $450 million to help finance a Revlon takeover.

Pantry Pride estimated it would take about $1.89 billion to buy all shares involved in the offer and to pay related fees and expenses.